Table 1.
Baseline characteristicsa of the eligible 76,402 women, Nurses’ Health Study 1984
| Characteristic | |
|---|---|
| Age at baseline (years ); mean (SD) | 49.9 (7.2) |
| Married | 91.4 |
| College education | 25.6 |
| Husband’s education: | |
| not married or husband less than high-school education | 29.1 |
| High-school | 32.2 |
| College | 21.0 |
| Graduate school | 17.8 |
| Employment: | |
| Nursing education | 13.5 |
| Operating room nurse | 4.0 |
| Room nurse | 2.7 |
| In-patient nurse | 20.1 |
| Out-patient nurse | 7.4 |
| Other nursing | 26.4 |
| Non-nursing | 6.3 |
| Homemaker | 19.8 |
| High stress in work or life | 67.3 |
| Family history of diabetes | 18.6 |
| Oral contraceptive use in 1980 | 50.4 |
| Menopause | 45.4 |
| Postmenopausal hormones | 12.0 |
| Diet | |
| Red meat (servings/day); mean (SD) | 1.2 (0.8) |
| Coffee intake (cup/day); mean (SD) | 2.4 (1.8) |
| Whole grain intake (serving/day); mean (SD) | 1.2 (1.2) |
| Soda (serving/day); mean (SD) | 0.9 (1.0) |
| Alcohol (gram/day); mean (SD) | 6.8 (10.4) |
| Calories per day (Kcal); mean (SD) | 1718 (530) |
| Cigarette smoking | |
| Smoking history in 1980 | 56.2 |
| Current smoker | 25.0 |
| Cigarettes per day (among smokers); mean (SD) | 20 (11) |
| Multivitamin use | 37.5 |
| Activity (hours/week of moderate or vigorous); mean (SD) | 2.3 (2.2) |
| BMI (kg/m2); mean (SD) | |
| At age 18 | 21.3 (2.8) |
| At baseline | 24.4 (1.2) |
| High cholesterol | 7.4 |
| High blood pressure | 19.6 |
| Aspirin use | |
| Less than daily | 57.0 |
| Daily or more | 9.3 |
| Osteoporosis | 2.6 |
a
% unless otherwise indicated.